public system or private health insurance?

Hi. I was pretty much in the same boat tossing up whether to go public or private for surgery when I was diagnosed with Grade 3 HER2 positive invasive ductal carcinoma with a proliferation rate of 71% (anything over 25% was considered high). Having to pay the gap was an issue for me but even more of an issue was my psychological need to keep my nipple. In the end I opted to go private because I wanted a particular surgeon who specialised in nipple conserving surgery. I ended up about $4000 out of pocket for that particular surgery which was a lumpectomy and reconstruction using my own breast tissue. I couldn't wait because it was classed as extremely aggressive and HER2 positive. My mother in law was diagnosed with DCIS and they told  her it wasn't  as urgent that she have surgery so she took a bit longer to make a decision. I think it comes down to how comfortable you feel with the surgeon. How much the GAP will be will be very different depending on the type of surgery and the surgeon. Good luck with it.